The function recognizes faces in a scene to optimize focus and exposure. It makes the skin look smoother in the picture and softens shadows on the face cast by sunlight with the use of an image processing technology. Users can shoot pictures while checking the effect of the function on the LCD screen. The EX-Z300 is equipped with a button dedicated to this function.

The makeup function makes blotches and dullness less obtrusive by lightening the skin color of faces in the image. In addition, the function "makes the skin tone look softer and smoother, while covering annoying little wrinkles," Casio said. With this function, "the skin looks clearer, younger and more natural in the pictures," according to the company. The intensity of the image processing can be selected from 12 levels.

The makeup function was enabled by the adoption of the Exilim Engine 3.0, which was newly developed for the cameras. It is a module that packages a processor dedicated to image processing in addition to the standard processor. The Exilim Engine 3.0 also enabled functions such as the "handheld night scene shooting" and the "lighting shooting."

The handheld night scene shooting function recognizes whether the camera is held by hand or a tripod when shooting night scenes. It operates in concert with the image stabilizer to select the setting that can reduce the camera shake while optimizing the brightness of faces and the background.

The function is also capable of processing noise at a high speed. This makes it possible to brightly capture both the people and the night scene even when the camera is held by hand, the company said.

The lighting shooting function optimizes the lighting balance when taking a picture against the light or under other shooting conditions. The function reproduces a natural gradation by preventing blooming and black crushing.

The EX-Z300 has the effective pixel count of 10.1 Mpixels. It has a 1/2.3-inch CCD image sensor and a 4x optical zoom lens with a focal distance equivalent to 28-112mm on a 35mm camera. It is equipped with an image stabilizer based on an image sensor shift mechanism.

The maximum sensitivity is ISO3200. The camera is capable of shooting still images with a resolution of up to 3648 x 2736 and 24fps video with a resolution of up to 1280 x 720. It supports the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video coding format. It uses the SDHC memory card (sold separately) or a built-in memory with a capacity of approximately 38.5 Mbytes as a recording medium to store images.

The camera measures 96.9 x 57.6 x 23.0mm, excluding the protrusions, and weighs about 131g without the battery and the accessories. It is slated for launch in Aug 29, 2008. There is no manufacturer's suggested retail price.

The EX-Z250 has the effective pixel count of 9.1 Mpixels. It has a 1/2.5-inch CCD image sensor and a 4x optical zoom lens with a focal distance equivalent to 28-112mm on a 35mm camera. It is equipped with an image stabilizer based on an image sensor shift mechanism.

The maximum sensitivity is ISO3200. The camera is capable of shooting still images with a resolution of up to 3456 x 2592 and 30fps video with a resolution of up to 848 x 480. It supports the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video coding format. It uses the SDHC memory card (sold separately) or a built-in memory with a capacity of approximately 38.5 Mbytes as a recording medium to store images.

The camera measures 96.7 x 57.3 x 19.9mm, excluding the protrusions, and weighs about 119g without the battery and the accessories. It is slated for launch Aug 29, Sept 5 and Sept 26, 2008, in order depending on the color of the chassis. There is no manufacturer's suggested retail price.

Correction Notice: Due to an error in the press release, we incorrectly stated that the effective pixel count of the EX-Z250 was 9.14 Mpixels, which is actually 9.1 Mpixes.